Overboard on the Ocean

by Ellen Jacobson

  “The wedding arch could be made out of vines,” Madison said.

  “I can picture you in an exquisite gold lace gown,” Sylvia said.

  Madison got a faraway look in her eyes. “I always thought I would wear a white dress.” After a beat, she grabbed her plate. “I’m going to get another slice of that quiche.”

  As Madison walked toward the buffet table, Sylvia said, “An autumn wedding would be best. Anthony is going to have a lot on his plate. They don’t need to rush things.”

  “I suppose he’ll be quite busy learning the ropes of running a business.”

  “Nonsense,” Sylvia snapped. “He’s a smart boy.”

  I held up my hand. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure he’s very smart. What I meant was that the transition is happening sooner than planned.”

  Sylvia relaxed. “Yes, that’s true. Fletcher’s passing was unexpected. But Anthony had worked closely with him, so he’s up to speed on everything. You and Scooter should reconsider investing. Anthony has had lots of inquiries from people who are eager to sign up. This opportunity won’t be around forever.”

  “Oh, have the guys who were on the cruise decided to invest?” I asked.

  “They’d be fools to pass it up,” she said, deftly giving me a non-answer.

  “What about Dominic?” When Sylvia furrowed her brow, I said, “I thought he was a potential investor. Wasn’t that why he was on the cruise?”

  Sylvia took a deep breath. “I suppose it’s okay to tell you the truth now. Dominic wasn’t a potential investor. He’s a distant cousin from Bratslavia.”

  “Bratslavia? I’ve never heard of that country. Is that one of the former Soviet socialist republics?”

  “Oh, maybe I’m thinking of bratwurst,” Sylvia said vaguely. “Anyway, Dominic is an ex-convict. Fletcher has been looking out for him. He’s actually a sweet guy, just not very bright. And his English isn’t very good. Fletcher thought it would be nice to bring him on the cruise, but he didn’t want anyone to know about his criminal background.”

  “So he made up a story about him being an investor?”

  “Well, Dominic does have a lot of money,” Sylvia said. “He won the lottery last year. He may be dumb, but he sure is lucky.”

  I smiled. “And here I thought I was his Lady Luck.”

  “What’s that?” Sylvia asked.

  “Oh, nothing, it was something he said to me on the cruise ship.”

  Sylvia’s face clouded. “I don’t think I’ll ever want to go on another cruise again. Too many sad memories.”

  I didn’t know how to console her, so I simply squeezed Sylvia’s hand. She gave me a faint smile. “I think I’m going to go for a walk. Tell Madison where I went, won’t you?”

  After her walk, Sylvia was more like her usual self, chatting with the other women about beach-themed weddings. The rest of the afternoon went off without a hitch. Some of the women played volleyball, while others went swimming. Other ladies, myself included, chilled out on the beach blankets and listened to music.

  “These throw pillows make all the difference,” I said.

  “You can never have too many throw pillows,” Anabel said. “Tiny is steeling himself for when we move back in together after the wedding. He knows I’ve bought tons more pillows since the divorce.”

  Penny piped up. “I just ordered some new ones with anchors on them.”

  “Let me guess,” I said. “They’re pink.”

  She laughed. “Is there any other color?”

  “Hey, what are they doing here? Don’t they know it’s girls only?” Anabel smiled at the Yorkies nestled in her lap. “Present company excepted.”

  I lifted my head and saw Scooter and the other guys walking toward us. “They must be heading back to Ben’s boat. It’s getting late. We should probably get moving too.”

  Penny pointed at the other end of the beach. “But Ben’s dinghy is over there.”

  “I think something is wrong,” I said, noting the grim expression on Scooter’s face.

  “Did someone get hurt?” Anabel asked, rising to her feet. “Is Tiny alright?”

  “They all look okay,” I said. “It must be something else.”

  “Do you know where Mrs. Tolliver is?” Chief Dalton asked as he approached us.

  “Sylvia? She went for a swim with Madison.” I pointed at a cluster of palm trees which shielded a small protected cove.

  The chief nodded, then squeezed Anabel’s hand before striding briskly down the beach.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  Scooter cleared his throat. “The chief just got a call from the police dispatcher. Anthony is dead.”

  13

  Parrot Attack

  “Anthony’s dead?” My eyes widened. “What happened? A car accident? A shark attack? A heart attack?”

  Scooter held up his hand. “All I know is that the owner of the Honeysuckle Cottages found him. She called 911, but it was too late.”

  “Inside his cottage?” When Scooter nodded, I said, “Okay, then it wasn’t a shark attack. At least I hope it wasn’t a shark attack. If it were, that would mean sharks now have the ability to walk on land and come into our homes. Or worse, they’re bipedal, like Bigfoot.”

  “You’re not making any sense,” Scooter said gently.

  I ran my fingers through my hair. “You’re right. I’ve had sharks on my brain lately. Probably shouldn’t have watched that documentary the other night. Let’s see, it probably wasn’t a heart attack. Anthony was only in his thirties.”

  “There’s no point in conjecture,” Scooter said.

  “He’s right,” Anabel said. “Tiny will get to the bottom of it.”

  I put my hand on her arm. “What a horrible end to your party.”

  She gave a wry smile. “It wouldn’t be the first time that something like this interrupted a party, or a romantic dinner, or even a quiet night in watching a movie.”

  “It can’t be easy being married to a police officer,” I said.

  “It comes with the territory.” Anabel smiled. “Tiny might say that being married to an artist isn’t easy either. When I’m in the flow and totally focused on a painting, I forget about everything else. There have been a few times when Tiny and I were supposed to meet somewhere, and I didn’t show up. Totally spaced that we had plans. Sometimes, I even forget to eat and sleep.”

  “I could never forget to eat,” I said.

  Penny interjected. “Speaking of eating, why don’t I start cleaning up the food containers. I think the party is probably over now.”

  “Ben and I can give you a hand,” Ned offered.

  “I’ll help too,” Anabel said.

  “No, this is your special day,” Penny said. “You should relax, not clean up.”

  “Well, if you’re sure. I’ll take the dogs for a walk then.” Frick and Frack started yipping at the mention of a walk. When Mrs. Moto meowed and rubbed against Anabel’s legs, she said to the cat, “Do you want to come too?”

  As Anabel and her three furry friends strolled down the beach and the others went to clean up, I turned to Scooter. “Do you think it could have been foul play? Could Anthony’s death be related to Fletcher’s murder?”

  He sighed. “I thought we had decided that we weren’t looking into that anymore.”

  “Wait, just hear me out. Remember how Herbert and Anthony came to a sudden agreement that Herbert would retire and sell the business to Anthony? Well, you have to admit that was awfully suspicious. Why would Herbert ever have agreed to that unless he was coerced somehow?”

  “Herbert said that he was looking forward to retirement,” Scooter said. “In fact, I saw him at the marina a couple of days ago. He was with Penny, arranging to have his boat trucked from Cleveland to Coconut Cove.”

  “Maybe he wasn’t as happy about retiring as you thought.” I chewed on my lip, then said, “What if he decided that he wanted to change their agreement permanently?”

  Scooter arched an eyebrow
. “Permanently? You think Herbert killed Anthony?”

  “It’s a possibility, isn’t it? Herbert hated Anthony. And once you’ve already killed someone, what’s one more death?”

  “You think he killed Fletcher and Anthony?” Scooter shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  “Well, who else would it be?”

  Scooter paced back and forth for a few moments, then turned to me. “Where’s that notebook of yours?”

  I grinned. “So the investigation is back on?”

  “Maybe.” He ruffled my hair, then held out his hand. “Did you bring your notebook?”

  “Of course. It’s in my backpack, along with my other essentials like the first aid kit and a bag of M&M’S” While he flipped through the pages, I said, “They’re headed back this way.”

  “Who?” Scooter asked absently.

  “The chief and Sylvia. I don’t know where Madison is.”

  “What about Dominic?”

  “Dominic isn’t here,” I said.

  “Huh?” Scooter furrowed his brow.

  “He’s not on Destiny Key. Unless you saw him when you guys were at Warlock’s Manor?”

  Scooter shook his head. “No, what I meant was that maybe Dominic killed Anthony.”

  “I’m not so sure about that.” I quickly filled Scooter in on my conversation with Sylvia. “He’s some sort of rich distant cousin.”

  “So, he’s not a loan shark?”

  I shrugged. “I’m not sure if he loaned Fletcher money or just gave it to him.”

  “But the watch and the car keys? How do you explain those?” Scooter scratched his head. “Who was it again who told us Dominic was a loan shark?”

  “It’ll be in the notebook, but—” I stopped mid-sentence when Sylvia and the chief came up to us. I passed the notebook to Scooter discretely, then gave Sylvia a hug. “I’m so sorry to hear about your nephew.”

  “Thank you,” she said, her face streaked with tears. “Anthony was helping me make the memorial service arrangements for Fletcher, and now I have to . . .” Sylvia collapsed into my arms. In between sobs, she said, “Now I’ll have to help my brother and sister-in-law with the arrangements for their son.”

  “Why don’t we get you back to the boat?” Scooter suggested.

  Sylvia nodded gratefully, tucking her hand through his arm. “Will you tell Madison where I’ve gone? She wanted some time to herself.”

  “Of course.” I glanced over to where the others were cleaning up. “We shouldn’t be too long.”

  After they left, Chief Dalton sighed. “Poor woman, losing two family members in a week.”

  “What was the cause of death?” I asked.

  “It was an accident.”

  I cocked my head to one side. “What kind of accident?”

  “I don’t think you’d find it very interesting,” he said dryly.

  “So not a shark attack, then.”

  The chief rolled his eyes. “No, not sharks.”

  “Oh, come on, tell me. You already told Sylvia and Madison, didn’t you?”

  He exhaled sharply. “Fine. I’ll tell you, but only because otherwise you’ll pester me to death. He was electrocuted.”

  “Electrocuted? How? Did he stick a knife in an outlet?”

  “The man was in his thirties, not a kid,” he scoffed. “Of course, he didn’t stick a knife in an outlet.”

  “Well, then how did it happen?”

  “A faulty charger.”

  I took a deep breath. “That’s awful.”

  “It happens more often than you’d think, especially with cheap knock-off chargers,” the chief said. “It’s a shame they didn’t find him sooner. Maybe he could have been saved.”

  “Scooter said that the owner of the bed-and-breakfast found Anthony. Is that right?”

  “Yes, when she went in to clean the cottage.” The chief looked at me. “Your friends might need your help finding another place to stay tonight.”

  “That’s a good point. I don’t think that they’d want to stay at the place where Anthony died. Why don’t I see if I can make them reservations at the Golden Astrolabe Hotel?”

  “I think that would be for the best. Can you let them know that I’ll check in with them tomorrow? Just a few formalities, that’s all.” The chief frowned. “It will be especially hard on Mr. Tolliver’s fiancée.”

  “Madison and Anthony weren’t engaged yet,” I said.

  “Hmm, I must have misunderstood.” He looked at Ned and Ben, who were folding up tables. “I better go and help them out.”

  As the chief walked away, I called out, “Hey, what kind of charger was it?”

  “A phone charger,” the chief said over his shoulder.

  All I could think of was that being electrocuted by a phone charger seemed like an awfully ironic way to die for the soon-to-be CEO of a telecommunications company.

  * * *

  On our sail back to Coconut Cove, both Sylvia and Madison were understandably subdued. Sylvia spent most of the trip back stroking Mrs. Moto while Madison stared vacantly into space. That is when Madison wasn’t retching over the side of the boat. The poor girl—not only was she afraid of water, she also suffered from terrible seasickness.

  “Do you want some ginger tea?” Anabel offered. “That might help settle your stomach.”

  “Okay,” Madison said, then sank back against a cushion.

  While Anabel went down below to boil some water, I asked one of the other ladies to take over the helm. I sat next to Madison and asked her if there was anything else we could do to help.

  “No, thanks,” she said. “I’m starting to feel better.”

  The greenish hue of her face made me doubt that she was really on the mend, but I didn’t say anything. “It won’t be much longer. Can you hang on for another half hour or so?”

  Madison nodded, then gave Anabel a weary smile when she handed her a mug. As Madison blew on the tea to cool it down, Sylvia let out a deep breath.

  “What’s wrong?” Madison asked the older woman. “Besides the obvious.”

  “I was just noticing your lovely manicure,” Sylvia said.

  Madison held out her hand, inspecting her teal and navy striped nails. “I had them done at a little nail salon in town. The Nail Nook, I think it’s called.”

  “You have such beautiful, long fingers,” Sylvia said. “Imagine how lovely the engagement ring would have looked on your hand.”

  Anabel and I exchanged glances, and I heard a woman behind me gasp. Was now really the time to remind Madison that Anthony had been about to propose to her?

  Sylvia looked around at the women in the cockpit and explained, “Madison was hanging up one of Anthony’s suit jackets when she found a velvet box. Well, of course, curiosity got the better of her. I mean, who among us wouldn’t be tempted to peek inside? Anyway, it was an engagement ring. Anthony had been planning on proposing.” Sylvia turned to Madison. “What did it look like, dear?”

  “It was an engagement ring,” Madison said before sipping on her tea.

  “Well, I know that silly. I assume it was a diamond?” Madison nodded brusquely, signaling that she wanted the conversation to end, but Sylvia continued undeterred. “What kind of cut? A classic solitaire? One with side stones? An emerald cut? What kind of setting? Gold? Platinum?”

  “It was a nice ring. Can we just leave it at that?” Madison set the mug down and clutched her stomach. “I think I’m going to be sick again.”

  After that, Sylvia fell silent. Madison dozed off, only waking when we arrived at the marina. Once I had secured the boat and said goodbye to the rest of the guests, I drove Sylvia and Madison to the Golden Astrolabe Hotel. “We can arrange for you to get your car tomorrow,” I told them. “I don’t think either of you should be driving right now.”

  As Madison thanked me, I noticed that her color looked better now that she was back on land. During the short drive to the hotel, Sylvia asked me if I wanted to come view some properties with her later
in the week.

  “Are you still planning on moving to Coconut Cove?” I asked.

  “I’m certainly not going back to Cleveland. It’s time for a fresh start.” Sylvia looked at Madison. “What about you, dear? What are you going to do?”

  “I have no idea,” Madison quietly said. “Anthony was my whole life.”

  As I pulled into the hotel’s circular driveway, the doorman opened the passenger door and helped Sylvia out of the car. Before he could do the same for Madison, she pushed past him, striding quickly into the lobby.

  “She must be feeling ill again,” Sylvia said as I walked around the other side of the car.

  “I was surprised that she decided to go out on the boat given how seasick she gets,” I said.

  Sylvia furrowed her brow. “I was too. But when I was getting ready this morning, she came by my cottage. When I told her where I was going, she insisted on joining. I hope Anabel didn’t mind that she crashed the party.”

  “Not at all,” I said. “I’m just sorry that it ended so tragically for the both of you.”

  “Maybe if Madison hadn’t come, this wouldn’t have happened. She could have saved Anthony from being electrocuted.” Sylvia dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “Sorry, I’m being unfair. It wasn’t Madison’s fault.”

  “It wasn’t anyone’s fault,” I said automatically, not really believing my own words. “Don’t forget that Chief Dalton is going to stop by tomorrow to ask you a few questions. Did you want me to be there?”

  “No, that’s okay. He said it would just be a few formalities.” She looked inside her purse. “Did I leave my phone charger aboard your boat? You can’t miss it, it’s green.”

  “I’m not sure. I can check for you when I get back. Do you need it right away?”

  “No, I can borrow a spare one from Anthony.” Sylvia put a hand over her mouth. “I can’t believe I said that. He’s gone.”

  “Do you want me to stay with you for a while?” I offered.

  She straightened her shoulders, then gave me a quick hug. “Thanks, but I’ll be fine.”